QUEENSLAND's Chief Magistrate has been urged to introduce anger management courses for members of the judiciary after a man was jailed for addressing an Ipswich magistrate as "mate".
Thomas John Collins was sent to the cells after twice calling Magistrate Matthew McLaughlin "mate'' during a hearing last week.
When Magistrate McLaughlin objected ordering Collins to address him as ``sir or your honour'', the defendant replied "okay mate'' and was sent for a stint in the cells.
He later returned to the courtroom to apologise.
Ipswich City Councillor Paul Tully said the incident followed another in Toowoomba, where a magistrate hauled two tradesmen before the court for making too much noise, and threatened to charge them with contempt.
Cr Tully said the pomposity of some magistrates had gone too far.
"It is getting out of control,'' he said.

"Some of these magistrates see themselves as Lord of the Fifedom.''
He said there was nothing ``more Australian than calling someone mate'' and it was hard to believe someone could be locked up for using the word.
"It's probably time for magistrates to understand they have a wide variety of people before them and calling someone mate is a term of endearment,'' Cr Tully said.
"I say to every magistrate - Come on mate, get off your high horse and show some tolerance."
He also called on the Chief Magistrate Judge Brendan Butler to introduce annual anger management classes for all Queensland magistrates.

Friday, October 29, 2010

President Obama Is Playing Politics With Domestic Violence Issue, Groups Warn

– Thu Oct 28, 9:05 am ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 – WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Domestic Violence experts are criticizing President Obama's pre-election unveiling of a new domestic violence initiative, saying the effort represents a concoction of unproven strategies that betray the needs of women. The Obama plan will promote wider use of restraining orders -- but research shows such orders are flatly ineffective in preventing future violence: http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/Why-DV-Programs-Fail-to-Stop-Abuse
The Independent Women's Forum has said such orders "lull women into a false sense of security," since a piece of paper is unlikely to deter a batterer intent on maiming a victim. Former Judge Milton Raphaelson of Massachusetts notes, "Few lives, if any, have been saved, but much harm, and possibly loss of lives, has come from the issuance of restraining orders and the arrests and conflicts ensuing therefrom."
According to a report issued Tuesday by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, lesbian and gay persons are nearly twice as likely to experience domestic violence as persons in heterosexual relationships. The report also documents cases of discriminatory practices and "verbal and sexual harassment of shelter staff towards lesbian clients:" http://www.avp.org/documents/2009DV-IPVREPORTFINAL2.pdf
"American women and men who face the grim reality of domestic violence in their daily lives are unlikely to be impressed by President Obama's plan," according to SAVE spokesperson Teri Stoddard. "Domestic violence programs should be based on solid evidence and research, and not consist of a series of disjointed efforts cobbled together on Election Eve."
An increase in female-initiated abuse has been documented in government surveys, but Obama's initiative is insensitive to a woman's request for counseling and treatment, or the needs of male victims. According to a 2007 Centers for Disease Control study, women commit 7 out of 10 acts of one-way partner violence.
Last week, former Playboy Playmate Angela Dorian took a handgun and shot her boyfriend in their Hollywood apartment. The 66-year-old Dorian was arrested Saturday night. Bail was set at $1,000,000.
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) has developed a Domestic Violence Fact Sheet: http://saveservices.org/pdf/Seven-Facts-Every-American-Should-Know-About-DV.pdfStop Abusive and Violent Environments -- SAVE -- is a national 501c3 organization dedicated to ending intimate partner violence through public awareness, training, and evidence-based policy: www.saveservices.org
SOURCE Stop Abusive and Violent Environments

The Crown has conceded at the Supreme Court that an error may have been made at the trial of a Christchurch man who was found guilty of punching his four-year-old son in the face and pulling his ear.
Following his conviction for assaulting his son in 2007, James Mason was sentenced to nine months' supervision and ordered to attend anger management classes.
In May, the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction.
On Tuesday, the case went before the Supreme Court, where Mason's lawyer Greg King said his client had suffered a miscarriage of justice because the punching and ear-pulling incidents had been included in a single charge.
The Crown accepted an error was made in that respect and indicated it would not oppose the granting of the appeal.
Solicitor-General David Collins QC told the Supreme Court the jury was not properly instructed on the requirement that they be unanimous about which part of the charge they found James Mason guilty of, if any.
The Supreme Court reserved its decision.Listen to Greg King on Checkpoint

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Scottish police record record number of male victims of domestic abuse: AMIS (Abused Men In Scotland) is launched to provide support for male victims

A new Scottish charity, AMIS, is formally launched today (Friday 15 October 2010) to raise awareness of the number of men in Scotland on the receiving end of domestic abuse and draw attention to the lack of services designed to help them.
AMIS today publishes statistics from the 8 Scottish police forces that show an increase of around 9.4% in the number of incidents that they recorded as domestic abuse or violence with a man as the victim in 2009-10 compared to 2008-9. The statistics also reveal a reduction of 6.1% in the number of incidents recorded with a woman as victim compared to 2008-9.
Within the acknowledged limitations of police statistics* one in six of recorded victims was male yet the reality remains that after 10 years of the Scottish Parliament there are virtually no support services in Scotland designed to help men and their children affected by domestic abuse or violence.
Co-founder of AMIS, Alison Waugh, says, “Unfortunately there is still a culture of denial among many politicians and providers of services who do not want to acknowledge the evidence in front of their eyes that thousands of men every year in Scotland are victims of domestic abuse. They are abused first by their partner or ex partner and then again by the public narrative that does not want to know about the damage they and their children experience.”
The Scottish Government publishes its domestic abuse statistics in November each year. Through FOI enquiries AMIS has established that for the 10th year in a row the number of male victims recorded by police has risen substantially. Six of the eight forces (Central, Fife, Grampian, Strathclyde, Lothian and Borders and Tayside) recorded an increase in male victims. Dumfries and Galloway and Northern recorded a fall in both male and female victims.
Seven of the eight forces recorded a fall in the number of female victims, the exception being Tayside.
Strathclyde recorded the most dramatic change in the balance of reports with an 8.3% increase in the number of men recorded as victims (4,685 from 4,324 in 2008-9) and a 9.9% drop in the number of females recorded as victims (19,840 from 22,019 in 2008-9). Both figures include heterosexual and same sex relationships.The biggest percentage increase in the number of male victims recorded was in Fife – up 23.1% (580 in 2009-10 from 471 in 2008-9).
Co-founder of AMIS, Jackie Walls says, “The statistics don't lie. Some people will say it’s because more men are coming forward to report. Others, that more women are being violent and abusive. Others, that public awareness of the reality out there is running ahead of the politicians. No one really knows. Whatever lies behind the figures we know that many public services look the other way when it comes to men who suffer domestic abuse. We have had enough of that one-sided approach.”
AMIS has been funded by the National Lottery Awards for All Scotland fund to establish an office in Dunfermline and a national telephone helpline that will be live in the evenings and weekends for men and their families. The helpline hours have been arranged to cover some of the time when the London-based Men's Advice Line, funded by the Scottish Government since April 2010, is closed. The AMIS helpline will be staffed by volunteers.
AMIS will also offer awareness training to organisations that have contact with victims and will seek to work in collaboration with other agencies that wish to develop support services for men on the receiving end of abuse and their children. AMIS will take an inclusive approach to male victims of domestic abuse – including female partners and ex partners and same sex partners and ex partners.
AMIS evolved from the petition lodged by Alison Waugh and Jackie Walls at the Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee in December 2009. The petition was supported by over 400 signatories and is still live at Holyrood. The petition can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/petitions/docs/PE1307.htm
AMIS co-founder, Jackie Walls says, “It has been a long road already for us to get this far and we are grateful for the Awards For All funding that is allowing us to make a modest start to the enormous task ahead of us. It’s a small beginning but it is a beginning.”* The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Partner Abuse research published by the Scottish Government in December 2009 indicated that police became aware of 35% of incidents of domestic abuse experienced by women in the preceding 12 months but only 8% of the incidents experienced by men. Read full media release

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Iran's Plan For Israel - Urgent WarningIran is a problem. It's a problem that's about to get worse...This new presentation reveals how a regional conflict that's been simmering for years could boil over at any moment.What's at stake? Israel's future for one. Your financial future, too.To see how oil could rocket to $220 a barrel in the blink of an eye - and how you can protect yourself - watch this presentation right now.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Courts treat men poorly: father

ABIGAIL WORKMAN

16 Sep, 2010 09:53 AM

MEN are being unfairly treated during custody battles according to an Albany father.The man whose case is still in court cannot be named, but he alleges fathers in the system were being treated like common criminals.
The man said he had been charged with child abuse but felt the allegations were baseless.
He felt the issues were no more than infrequent domestic arguments, and he cannot get help or advice on the matters.
The children in question have been in the care of their mother since December, 2009. He alleges she is a drug addict.
“These children have been taken out of my care without any proof,” he said.
“The matter has gone to the Department of Child Protection (DCP) but as far as I am aware has not gone on to the police.”
When police protectors were contacted, they were unaware of the family in question.
“She (ex-partner) keeps lying to these government departments and putting the children into dangerous situations,” the father said.
“I’ve hit a brick wall and these departments seems to just want to protect her.
“I am a decent parent and the way I’ve been treated is disgraceful.
“No-one is doing their job and if DCP don’t start doing their job they will have blood on their hands.”
Family Law Action Group (FLAG) member Simon Hunt said fathers were often removed from their children’s lives on an interim basis.
“Their only prospect is to convince a biased court (and biased practitioners) that the situation should change and their role restored, which is ridiculously difficult,” he said.
“The notion of shared parenting after divorce is seen as radical and only possible in rare circumstances where both parents get on very well.
“The Family Court actually cite ‘conflict’ as the reason why one parent – usually the father – must be excluded from their children.”
Mr Hunt said child custody litigation was about winners and losers with very few mothers able to cope with the idea of being excluded from their children’s lives.
The DCP would not make comment on the case but denied men were being unfairly discriminated against in cases of alleged domestic violence and custody battles.
“The department observes a stringent non-discrimination policy to provide fairness and equity to all Western Australian families and ensures that these people who need direct assistance have an opportunity to receive that assistance,” a spokesperson said.
“The department conducts rigorous interviews and risk assessments to determine the best accommodation and care option for children.
“In some instances the child will be placed in care outside of the immediate or extended family.”
DCP said various services were available through government and non-government agencies including Anglicare, Regional Counselling and Mentoring Services.
“There are also a number of group counselling sessions including Changing Tracks for male domestic violence perpetrators, post-separation services and substance abuse counselling provided primarily by not-for-profit organisations,” the spokesperson said.
“In the Albany area, men are able to access individual counselling through a number of local private practitioners.”http://albany.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/courts-treat-men-poorly-father/1943811.aspx

Monday, October 4, 2010

Refuge's claims about women 'exaggerated'

Photo / Richard Robinson

The Advertising Standards Authority has labelled Women's Refuge claims that a third of women live in fear as "exaggerated".
The body upheld two complaints about fundraising print and television advertisements that ran in July. In the newspaper version the Saatchi & Saatchi ads said: "One in three New Zealand women need your help. Because living in fear isn't living."
The television version repeated the statistic and asked viewers to "stop the abuse before it starts".
Two complainants questioned the credibility of the statistic and one said the adverts discriminated against men, breaching required standards.
In its response, Women's Refuge said the statistic came from sources including 2004 research which found 33 to 39 per cent of women experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
Further, a World Health Organisation study in Auckland and Waikato found one in three women experience physical or sexual violence from a partner in their lifetime.
The ASA complaints board said there was nothing in the print advertisement - which depicted two women sitting at a cafe table surrounded by other patrons all of whom had the same male's face - to indicate that it reached the threshold to cause serious and widespread offence by its portrayal of men.
However, the use of the WHO study was more problematic.
"While the majority of the complaints board acknowledged the veracity of the statistics, it was concerned that a study restricted to women living in Waikato and Auckland was used as the basis for national statistics."
Similarly, it was concerned with the 2004 lifetime violence finding, which was based on an episode of violence becoming the "basis for fear".
"In the majority view, it was inappropriate to extrapolate the claim 'one in three women ... are living in fear ...' from the research.
"It also made the point that a strong claim specifically used to encourage donations from the public, in turn required robust research to substantiate it.
"In the majority view, this had not been provided. Therefore ... in this context, the claim was exaggerated ..."
The refuge was found to be in breach of the ASA's basic code of ethics in that its adverts were not prepared with a due sense of social responsibility.
Truthful presentation was also compromised.
A minority view disagreed and said the refuge had the right to use "provocative, robust opinion" and, given the nature of the claim, the right to extrapolate statistics from the research.
At the time of the campaign's launch, Women's Refuge chief executive Heather Henare said the adverts were highlighting psychological as well as physical abuse.
"People recognise physical abuse because there is something to see. Psychological abuse is far more sinister and far more prevalent."
Ms Henare did not return calls yesterday.